


Sleeping Beauty

by PxrkerStark



Series: Peter Parker: The human disaster [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fainting, Fainting Condition, Flash Thompson Redemption, Hurt Peter Parker, Medical Conditions, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker has a fainting condition, Precious Peter Parker, Prompt: Fainting, Protective Michelle Jones, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Unconsciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28275927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PxrkerStark/pseuds/PxrkerStark
Summary: Peter was swinging around and webbing down the robots when he felt the familiar feeling of lightheadedness hit him. The only problem was that he was about 300 feet in the air and he only had a few seconds before he would lose consciousness.Peter wanted to groan in frustration. He really didn’t want to faint right now.ORPeter faints a lot and every time someone is there to catch him, until one time they’re too late.Mainly Tony and Peter because… Irondad Spiderson obviously.
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Peter Parker: The human disaster [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009887
Comments: 10
Kudos: 259





	Sleeping Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> I gave Peter a fainting condition and wanted to write about it so here it is :)
> 
> This is inspired by @lavishhallucinations fainting fic. It has to be one of my fav fics I've ever read so I would definitely recommend reading it!

“You got it, Cap?” Tony’s voice sounded through the coms. 

“Got it!” Steve called back and Peter caught a glimpse of his shield being tossed through the air and embedding itself in the chest of a robot. 

Peter and the team were having their nightly movie night when they unexpectedly got called in for a mission against a bunch of alien robots that had attacked Queens out of all the places in New York. Peter was stressing about May being okay but he hadn’t had time to get a hold of her to see if she was. 

This was distracting Peter so much that he found himself having way too many close calls on this mission and had been scolded multiple times by his worried teammates, mainly Tony. Tony had tried to assure him that May was okay but it didn’t calm the anxiety that was eating away at him. 

Peter was swinging around and webbing down the robots when he felt the familiar feeling of lightheadedness hit him. The only problem was that he was about 300 feet in the air and he only had a few seconds before he would lose consciousness. 

Peter wanted to groan in frustration. He  _ really  _ didn’t want to faint right now. 

“Mr. Stark…” he managed to get out as the exhaustion hit him at full force and he felt himself go limp and fall through the air as darkness took over. 

Tony had been worried about Peter coming along this mission since it was so close to his Aunt's home and he knew it would stress the kid out to the point of possibly triggering his fainting. He had been watching Peter the entire battle and privately asked the others to do so too. 

So when Tony got the alert from Karen that Peter had lost consciousness and was currently falling 300 feet down to his death, Tony wasn’t surprised. 

“Uh, Stark!?” he heard Natasha call through the coms and saw her down on the street looking over at something with a panicked look on her face. Tony turned to see a familiar red and blue figure descending through the air toward the concrete ground.

“I got him,” Tony called as he shot toward his kid. It was too close for comfort when he finally got to him and caught him just before he hit the pavement. Tony was able to release a relieved sigh when Peter was safe in his arms and took off away from the battle. 

“You guys got this? I need to get the kid somewhere safe.” Tony spoke through his com. 

“Did he faint?” Clint questioned, his voice holding a knowing tone. The entire team knew about Peter’s fainting condition that had only been developed a few months ago, they still didn’t know the reason. The only thing they knew is that Peter could faint 10 - 20 times a day, sometimes it could get as bad as 30 times a day depending on if it’s a bad or a good day. Today had been a good day and he had only fainted about 9 times so far, this one being the 9th. 

“Yeah, looks like he’ll be out of it for a while. The stress got to him, I think.” Tony sighed as he cradled Peter closer to him. 

“Take care of Peter, Tony. We can handle it from here.” came Steve's voice. Tony thanked them and took off toward the Tower, Peter remaining motionless throughout the entire flight. 

“Vitals, FRI?” 

_ ‘Elevated heart rate but besides that everything is stable, Sir.’  _ Friday informed him. 

Tony landed on the helipad and walked into the tower, setting Peter down on the couch so he could step out of his suit before picking him up again. He carried Peter to his room and laid him down on the bed, gently tugging off his mask to see the peaceful look he always wore when he was sleeping, it always reminded Tony of how young he was when he saw him like this. It filled him with a strong need to protect this kid. 

Tony brushed back Peter's honey curls from his face before standing up and walking over to Peter’s closet to grab some comfy pyjamas. He got Peter changed out of his suit and into his Pajamas before scooping him up again and carrying him back out into the living room knowing that Peter hates being alone whenever he woke up. 

Tony had him bundled up in blankets and pillows when the others showed up, finished with the mission, S.H.I.E.L.D would deal with the rest. They looked exhausted as they dragged themselves into the kitchen to grab water bottles and snacks. 

Natasha was the first to come into the living room, seeing Peter’s still unconscious next to Tony. She frowned and slumped next to her favourite team member. She carded her fingers through Peter’s curls, untangling them. 

“О, бедный паучонок.” She mumbled sadly. 

“Is he still out?” Tony turned to see Sam sipping from a water bottle standing behind the couch. 

“He hasn’t woken up since the battle,” Tony told him with a small shrug. He checked Peter’s Fitbit to see that his heart had gone back to a steady rhythm. 

Eventually, everyone had a shower and changed into comfy clothes and were huddled around the teenager, watching Family Feud. Tony looked away from the TV when he felt Peter shift against his side where he had been resting. 

Peter let out a small groan which caught everyone's attention who was now watching as the boy came to. Peter slowly lifted his head off of Tony’s shoulder and nearly toppled forward from dizziness had Tony not reached out to catch him. 

Peter blinked away his blurry vision and shook his head a bit. He looked around to see everyone's eyes on him and smiled sheepishly. 

“...hey guys,” he greeted tiredly. A chorus of gentle voices returned the greeting with sympathy. Peter smiled and looked down to see Natasha sat on the ground in front of him, giving him a small smile. 

“Привет.” he smiled. 

“Как ты себя чувствуешь, бубба?” Nat questioned gently. 

“Устала и расстроена, но со мной все будет хорошо.” Peter told her with a reassuring smile. Natasha smiled and patted his leg through the blanket. Tony coughed loudly and Peter and Nat turned to see him glaring at them. 

“You know… I always feel like you two are gossiping about us when you speak Russian to each other. It’s not fair.” Tony pouted, crossing his arms causing Peter to laugh. 

“We wouldn't tell you if we were so I guess you’ll never know~” Peter sang teasingly with a grin. Tony glared at him playfully before ruffling his hair and pulling him into his side, wrapping an arm around him. 

“Up for a Family Feud Challenge?” Tony grinned down at him. 

Peter smiled, “Only if I’m on your team,”

“Of course, Kiddo.” 

* * *

The team had decided to take a small family-like trip to the beach on the weekend, having thought it would be a fun little trip. They all agreed to the idea and Peter had been through the roof excited. He had only ever been to the beach a few times, the last time being years ago. 

They had taken separate cars since there were so many of them and made their way to Tony’s private beach, knowing that they would be bombarded if they went to public beaches filled with people. The others were used to it but Peter was new to the team and nobody but the team knew he was Spider-man so if a random teenage boy was seen hanging out with the team that would bring a lot of suspicion to the public. 

Tony, Peter, Clint, Nat, and Rhodey had taken a car together while Steve, Sam, Bucky, and Bruce had taken the other car. Thor told them he would meet them there, choosing to fly instead. 

Peter had blasted his music throughout the car ride and played I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys which had Clint singing along with a horrifyingly high pitched, cracking voice. Nat was in the backseat with him trying to shut him up but Clint kept on singing, prying away Nat's hand that had been slapped over his mouth to silence him. 

Peter thought it was hilarious and encouraged his horrible tone-deaf singing. Tony and Rhodey were amused, watching the redhead and archer fight against each other and hearing Peter’s giggles.

They arrived at the beach at the same time as Steve and the others. Thor had landed next to the car scaring the shit out of Peter at his sudden arrival. They grabbed the beach chairs and bags of towels and umbrellas out of the trunk before trudging their way from the parking lot down to the beach. 

Peter being the energetic teen he was, had no trouble running through the hot sand and toward the water as soon as he saw it, leaving behind the others. Tony wore a huge grin as he watched the kid pretty much squeal in excitement. If he knew Peter had liked the beach this much he would have taken him a long time ago. Well, now he knew. 

Tony managed to call Peter back to help them set up the umbrellas and towels. It was done within 5 minutes and everyone was sat down on their own towel under the bunch of umbrellas. Natasha set down the basket of sandwiches and drinks in the middle of the circle they had created.

Peter scarfed down 3 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and was waiting patiently for the others to finish eating while sipping at the juice-box Sam had given him. Tony was eyeing Peter as he bounced impatiently. He shook his head and reached into his bag for sunscreen. 

He pulled Peter closer to him and Peter made a confused sound before squeaking in protest when Tony smeared sunscreen on his cheeks and nose. Peter put his juice-box down and swatted away Tony’s hands. 

“Mr. Stark! What was that for?!” Peter spluttered as he wiped away the sunscreen on his face. Tony tsked and reached out to rub it in, purposely squishing Peter's cheeks, earning an unimpressed look from the teen.

“You need it or you’ll turn as red as a tomato out there,” Tony told him and continued smearing sunscreen across his face. Peter groaned and tried pushing away Tony’s hands. “Didn’t school ever teach you to use protection?” Tony teased and Peter’s face went red as he spluttered. The team laughed at Peter’s embarrassment. 

“I can do it myself!” Peter swatted Tony’s hands away and snatched the bottle of sunscreen away from him, glaring at him as he rubbed it into his face. Tony nodded in approval and handed out more sunscreen bottles to everyone else who had pulled off their clothes revealing their swimsuits underneath. 

Peter was finishing rubbing the last bit of sunscreen into his chest when he looked up and saw Thor lounging around shirtless, waiting for everyone to finish lathering themselves in sunscreen. Peter’s jaw dropped and his cheeks burned red as he quickly looked down at his towel. 

Tony noticed this and knew that the kid was a huge fanboy of Thor and had a little crush on the man. He was probably screaming inside at this very moment. Tony decided to tease him. 

“Are you already burning or is that a blush I see, hm?” Tony said loudly and nudged Peter’s arm with a raised brow. Peter looked up horrified. 

“I’m going to the water, catch up old man!” Peter deflected the question and took off running toward the water, leaving Tony holding a hand to his heart, feigning hurt. 

“Did he just-” 

“The kid just called you an old man, Stark. That’s what happened.” Clint told him with a grin. 

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me Legolas. Appreciate it.” Tony glared sarcastically. Clint chuckled and began walking toward the water along with the others. Nat decided to stay behind with Bruce instead and Tony called them boring before joining the others in the cold water. 

Tony was anxious about Peter swimming in the ocean with his condition but Tony knew he’d be okay with the team watching out for him and that Tony had set up his Fitbit that it monitors when he faints, it sends a message to Tony’s watch which makes it vibrate on his wrist multiple times to catch his attention. 

Besides, Peter had only fainted 3 times today so he seemed to be having a good day. But Tony didn’t want to jinx it. Tony hissed as he walked into the freezing water. He could see the others further out into the water playing with a beach ball, playing volleyball with an invisible net. 

He swam over to them hearing Clint complaining and trying to make a rule against Peter and Cap's super strength which they agreed. Tony noticed the waves had gotten a little more aggressive since they first arrived and decided to watch out for that. 

Peter had to teach Thor how to play and had a surprising amount of patience with the man when he had to repeat the rules of the game more than once. Tony had joined in, obviously picking Peters team and had demolished Steve's team at the game. 

Steve called for a rematch accusing the other team of cheating which turned into a playful argument. They all then decided to change the game and play chicken fight instead. 

Peter got on Tony’s shoulders and Bucky got on Steves. Tony had argued that two super soldiers against one teenager with super strength was unfair so instead, Clint had gotten on Steve’s shoulders while the others paired up with their partners. Natasha and Bruce had joined and Nat got on Rhodey’s shoulders and was against Thor holding Bruce. 

The game started and Nat and Rhodey were down first, Thor and Bruce moved onto Bucky and Sam and Bucky and Sam won. Tony and Peter were still fighting against Steve and Clint when finally Clint and Steve went down. Lastly, it was Tony and Peter against Sam and Bucky. Peter nearly toppled off of Tony’s shoulders when Bucky gave a hard push but Tony quickly steadied himself. 3 minutes of struggling later and finally Bucky brought Sam with him under the water. 

There was a chorus of cheers and booing as Peter and Tony laughed triumphantly. Tony fell backwards purposefully, bringing Peter with him into the water and laughed when Peter jumped up and splashed him in the face. 

They went back to volleyball and were playing for a while and Tony noticed the waves getting worse, but not to the point where it was dangerous, just a little worrying. 

It was when Tony’s watch suddenly went off, the vibrations going crazy against his wrist as he read the big red warning on the screen. His head shot up to see Peter so far out into the ocean weakly trying to swim toward the shore or to  _ them _ , trying to get there in time before he fainted. He was so far away that Tony worried he wouldn’t get there in time before he passed out. 

“Steve! The kid!” Tony yelled over at the super-soldier, pointing to his watch frantically. Steve furrowed his brows before realization dawned on his face. He looked over at the teen who had been carried by the waves and was unconscious now. 

Steve took off swimming toward the spiderling and others had noticed that something was wrong. Bucky followed Steve out toward Peter. Tony was angry with himself for not noticing that the waves had carried Peter so far out. He was so distracted that he hadn’t noticed. 

Steve and Bucky had gotten to him in less than a minute and were both lifting him out of the water as they made their way back to the team. The others followed them as they passed and continued carrying Peter to shore. Once they got back onto the sand Bucky held Peter’s legs while Steve had his arms hooked under Peters.

They gently set down the unconscious teen onto the towels. Bruce crouched down next to Peter, pressing his fingers down on his neck, making sure there was a pulse. Tony watched anxiously as Bruce brought his face close to Peter’s open mouth, checking if he was breathing. 

Tony’s heart dropped when Bruce waved his arms to ask for everyone to step back and make space. He got onto his knees and started 30 chest compressions. Tony could feel himself edging on a panic attack as Bruce tilted Peter’s head back and performed two rescue breaths. Tony had to turn away when there was no response and Bruce repeated the same thing two more times. 

Eventually Tony heard coughing and he spun around to see Peter rolled onto his side, coughing up water and gasping in air. There were collective sighs of relief from the team when seeing Peter was okay. Peter slumped back onto his back and Bruce hovered over him. 

“Pete, can you hear me?” Bruce questioned gently. Peter stared up at him for a few seconds dazed before registering the question and giving a small nod. It wasn’t long before Peter’s eyes fell shut again and he fell back into unconsciousness.

“Is he okay?” Steve asked, unsure as Bruce stood up. 

“He’s responsive and is breathing again so he just needs a little bit of rest, he’s probably exhausted. He’s okay.” Bruce gave everyone a reassuring smile. Tony didn’t smile back. Instead, he sat down on the towels and pulled Peter over to him, wrapping him up in the biggest and warmest towel and rested his head in his lap.

The team sat back down on the towels and began talking as if Peter hadn’t nearly drowned and it was all Tony’s fault. 

About 15 minutes later Peter slowly came to, lifting his head slightly before squinting up at Tony. Tony gave him a small smile and brushed his fingers through his wet curls, knowing Peter loved when people did that. It was one of his weaknesses next to ice cream.

“Hi,” Peter said, barely above a whisper. 

“Hey, kiddo. You with us again?” Tony tried to hold a playful tone but it was difficult. Peter sat up and rested his head against Tony’s shoulder. 

“Almost.” Peter chuckled. The others smiled at him and waited patiently for him to gain back awareness. Once he did he looked at them with a frown. “Did I faint again?” he mumbled. They all shared a look. 

“What’s the last thing you remember, Бубба?” Nat asked with furrowed brows. Peter furrowed his brows in thought. 

“The waves were really strong and I was getting tired, I remember trying to get back to you guys but I must’ve passed out again.” Peter told them and didn’t miss the raised brows. 

“Again?” Rhodey repeated suspiciously. Tony turned to look at Pete with that look that always meant Peter was about to be scolded. Peter shrunk into himself. 

“I fainted for a few seconds during volleyball but it was a very short one, I was awake before I even went under.” Peter admitted quietly, glancing at Tony hoping to not see the look that Tony was wearing. No luck.

“Petey. We talked about this. No matter how short it was you  _ have  _ to tell me or one of us. Especially if we are in an ocean where you could easily drown which you almost did! All because I was distracted and didn’t notice.” Tony scolded, running a hand through his hair as a way to try to calm himself. Peter furrowed his brows. 

“...I don’t remember that... But do not blame yourself for that, Tony. Please.” Peter told him and caught him by surprise when he used Tony instead of Mr. Stark. “You’re right, I should’ve told you. It was my fault and it won’t happen again. I promise.” Peter said, giving Tony a hard stare until Tony nodded, not arguing any further. 

“Sorry for ruining the trip guys…” Peter said shyly, looking down at his hands in his lap. 

“Nuh-uh. If I can’t feel guilty about what happened then you can’t try to say you ruined the trip. Because you didn’t. Got it? Besides, it’s not over yet. Cap still wants that rematch for the chicken fight. We’re gonna kick everyone's asses again. Deal?” Tony held out his hand, Peter grinned and shook it. 

“Deal.” 

* * *

“Clint, if you don’t back away from the cheese I will shoot you.” Natasha threatened, pointing a stern finger at Clint who had kept stealing shredded cheese from the bowl.

“But shredded cheese is the best!” Clint whined, popping out his bottom lip in a pout. 

“I’d back off, Barton. Romanoff isn’t playing around.” Steve warned, not looking away from the ground beef he was cooking on the stove.

“Hey, can I have some?” Peter came up beside Natasha and gave her his best puppy eyes. She paused her cheese grating to look at him.

“Uh oh, he pulled out the puppy eyes. You’re under his control, Romanoff.” Tony commented from his position at the island where he was dicing up lettuce on a cutting board. 

Natasha stared at Peter long and hard before giving in. “Fine,” she grumbled and continued her grating. Peter grinned and grabbed a handful of shredded cheese from the bowl, noticing the way Clint’s jaw was dropped.

“How come he’s allowed some but not me?!” Clint complained.

“Because she likes Peter more than you!” Sam called out from the living room, causing Clint’s jaw to drop even more if that’s possible.

“Is that true, Nat?” Clint pouted. Natasha smirked and shrugged. Peter approached Clint and sneakily handed him some shredded cheese, earning a large grin from the archer. Apparently, it wasn't sneaky enough.

“I saw that” Natasha grumbled

“Saw what?” Peter questioned innocently before turning and walking away, eating his cheese. Natasha just grinned and rolled her eyes.

-

The tacos were finally prepared and ready to be eaten. There were multiple plates of taco shells, both hard and soft, along with plates and bowls of all the toppings. 

There had to be extra of everything since there were so many of them including a teenager with enhanced metabolism. 

The bowls and plates had been placed on the large dining table and the team had gathered around, passing bowls and plates to each other and making their tacos how they please. 

Tony’s eyes widened at the sight of Peter’s tacos having pretty much everything he could on them. He wasn’t a picky kid. He would eat pretty much anything and sometimes Tony forgot that. 

The team were all digging in and munching down on their tacos and Peter was on his 10th taco when he suddenly felt the familiar distant feeling, his vision blurred and he swayed slightly. He felt his hand holding his taco drop to the table and he fought to keep his eyes open, to no luck. 

“Mr. Stark…” Peter mumbled before he succumbed to unconsciousness. 

Tony was glaring at Clint’s jab when he heard Peter’s slurred voice say his name. He turned in his seat to see Peter’s limp body falling out of his chair. Tony shot out an arm and caught the kid’s sweatshirt, pulling him to himself and turning Peter so he could rest his head against Tony’s chest. 

Tony felt for a pulse and nodded in satisfaction at the steady thumping he felt. The others smiled sympathetically at both Tony and the unconscious teenager before returning to their conversations. 

Tony wasn’t paying attention, he usually couldn’t pay attention to anything other than Peter whenever he fainted, waiting for him to wake up. The other’s knew this and always tried to involve him in conversations to try to distract him. 

It had been months since Peter’s fainting condition first came about. Tony had a panic attack the first time he had to catch Peter when he unexpectedly took a swan dive while walking over to retrieve a wrench from Tony in the lab. 

He thought maybe the kid was just dehydrated or something that could be fixed easily, but that wasn’t the case. The fainting kept happening. It went from 5 - 10 times a day to 10 - 15 times a day, then to 10 - 20 times a day, sometimes even more. Bruce and Hellen Cho had done many tests but still weren’t able to diagnose him with anything other than a simple fainting condition. 

And even though this has been going on for months, Tony always panicked a bit whenever he had to catch Peter’s limp body to keep him from smashing his head off of anything. Never once has Peter fallen without being caught by either Tony, his teammates, aunt, or friends. Kids at his school had been told about his condition and were required to catch the boy if they ever needed to. 

Tony was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt the teen shift against him and lazily try to lift his head, trying to break out of his unconscious state. Tony waited patiently for Peter to come to and smiled as soon as tired doe eyes met his. 

“Hey, kiddo.” Tony beamed.

“Hey, Mr. Stark.” Peter returned with a warm smile before pushing himself to sit up properly in his own seat, Tony letting go of him so he could. He swayed a bit, blinking away his dizziness and steadying himself. 

He looked back down at his plate where he had dropped his taco and frowned when he saw the hard shell pretty much shattered, the contents spilling out onto the plate. He felt tears prick at his eyes and he knew it was just him being overly sensitive like he always was after waking up. 

“My taco broke…” Peter whined, close to tears at the sight of his broken taco. 

“No need to shed tears, spider child. You shall have mine.” Thor boomed from across the table and handed him his taco which also contained about every topping they had set out on the table. 

“Thank you, Thor.” Peter smiled and began munching on the taco, tears vanishing. Tony smiled and felt a warm feeling in his chest that he always felt whenever he saw the kid's bright smile. 

* * *

It was nearing 6 am when Peter finally got up, having been tossing and turning all night. He was trying to will himself back to sleep but apparently, his body only allows him to fall unconscious during the most inconvenient times, not when he needed it to. 

Peter was grumpy when he eventually gave up trying to go back to sleep and dragged himself out of bed, the sun was still down but he knew it would come out soon which would wake him up a bit. 

Peter threw on a sweatshirt and pyjama pants before sauntering out of his room. He was halfway down the hall when he felt a rush of exhaustion and his limbs turning to jelly. 

“Oh so  _ now _ you’re tired,” Peter grumbled to himself before darkness swarmed his vision.

Luckily Steve had just woken up and left his room just in time to see Peter in the hallway, his head rolling back and body going limp. He darted over to the boy and slipped his arms under him, scooping him up so the teen's head was resting against his shoulder. 

Steve looked down at the boy's lax face to see that he did indeed faint. He checked for his pulse like he always saw Tony do and pulled his fingers away after he felt the steady thumping. Steve adjusted the spiderling in his arms before walking out into the main area. 

Tony was sitting on the couch, coffee in one hand while staring at the random show playing on the TV. He looked up when he saw Steve walk out into the room, his eyes fell onto Peter’s unconscious body and he shot up from the couch, setting his coffee down on the coffee table before rushing over. 

“What happened? Is he okay? Did you catch him or find him like this?” Tony questioned worriedly, carefully taking Peter from Steve’s arms. Steve made sure Tony was holding him before letting go. 

“I caught him, don’t worry. I saw him faint in the hallway just in time to catch him.” Steve assured him, knowing that one of Tony’s biggest fears was Peter fainting and having no one there to catch him. Tony nodded and gave him a grateful smile before bringing the teen over to the couch. 

As Tony went to place Peter down onto the cushions his eyes fluttered open, looking unfocused. Tony glanced at Steve who wore a concerned expression when he saw the distant look in Peter’s eyes. 

“Hey, Pete. You with us?” Tony asked gently, slowly sitting Peter up on the couch. Peter stared at the window for a few seconds before his eyes rolled back and his chin dropped to his chest and he was out again. 

Tony cursed quietly and carefully laid Peter down, sliding a pillow under his head and pulling a blanket up to cover him. He took his time to tuck him in comfortably, making sure he was all snuggled up in warm blankets before stepping back. 

“Is he okay?” Steve asked, unsure. Tony sighed and scratched his goatee anxiously. He took a seat next to Peter’s legs. 

“He might be having one of his fainting episodes. They don’t happen often, usually only when he didn’t get enough sleep or food, sometimes they are random. We just have to wait and see if he manages to wake up and stay away for longer than 5 minutes.” Tony explained, a sad tone to his voice. Steve nodded and sat down on the couch, watching Tony brush his fingers through Peter’s curls. 

It wasn’t until 5 minutes later when Peter woke again. This time he seemed aware of his surroundings and pushed his arms under him, pushing himself up slightly. Tony kneeled down in front of him and tried talking to him. 

“Hey, kiddo. Can you stay awake for me? If not, that’s okay, don’t fight it. It’ll be over soon.” Tony reassured him gently, cupping the teenager's face in his hand. Peter looked defeated. His eyes tired and his body weak. 

“Don’ wanna.” Peter slurred, squeezing his eyes shut then widening them to try to keep himself awake. 

“I know, Petey. But you have to. It will only get worse if you try to fight it, you know that. Just let it run its course.” Tony encouraged him. His heart broke when Peter let out a small whimper before his eyes fell shut and his arms collapsed underneath him, his head hitting his pillow with a soft thud. 

“Yeah, he's having an episode.” Tony confirmed with a sigh. He stood up from his crouched position, knees popping as his legs straightened out. 

“Should we go make him some breakfast, maybe some food will help calm it down a bit?” Steve suggested. Tony nodded in agreement. 

They both left into the kitchen and began pulling out pans to make eggs and bacon. The two avengers were discussing quietly while they cooked their favourite spider breakfast when they could hear soft footsteps approaching the kitchen. They stopped talking to look up. 

Peter had stumbled from the living room over to the kitchen and unsteady on his feet. He braced a hand against the wall to hold himself up and shook his head to clear his vision. 

“Peter, what are you doing up?” Tony inquired and moved away from the stove toward the boy who held his hands out to stop him. 

“M’ fine now. It’s over.” Peter told him and stepped away from the wall, steadying himself on his feet. 

“I don’t think it’s over, buddy. You know you’re not supposed to get up until you know for sure that it's over.” Tony eyed him, knowing for sure that it wasn’t over just by how half out of it he still was. 

“Mr. Stark, it’s done. I’m sure.” Peter assured him, but that didn’t convince him. 

“You’re fighting it, bud. You know that just makes it worse.” Tony scolded gently. Peter opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when his knees suddenly buckled under him, he caught himself, grabbing onto the counter. Tony jumped forward to catch him but stopped when Peter held out a shaking hand. 

“C’mon, kiddo. Come sit down, I’ve got you.” Tony encouraged him but Peter only shook his head, but he even struggled to do that, his movements sluggish. 

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m okay.” he paused, taking a moment to compose himself but failed as he felt his legs about to buckle once again. “Nevermind,” he mumbled before pretty much throwing himself into Tony’s arms which quickly wrapped around him. 

“Oh, Pete.” Tony frowned and scooped him up into his arms, bringing him back over to the couch. He tucked him in once again before returning to the kitchen. 

“Do you mind if I stay out there to watch him?” Tony asked. Steve smiled. 

“Of course, I’ll finish this up and bring it out when it’s ready.” Steve told him. Tony gave  him a small nod and returned back to Peter’s side. 

Peter’s dark lashes fluttered as his eyes opened once again, this time there were tears in his eyes and he wore a distraught expression. He didn’t even bother moving this time, instead, just simply looked up at Tony before bursting into tears. 

Tony hushed him softly, running his fingers through Peter’s hair in an attempt to calm down his sobs. “It’s okay, you’re okay.” 

“I don’t wanna go again.” Peter cried as he felt the pull of unconsciousness again. Tony’s heart shattered for his son-figure. 

“You’re not going anywhere, Pete. I’m right here by your side. I’m not going anywhere. Promise.” Tony promised him, brushing away the stream of tears falling down Peter’s pale cheek. Peter nodded before his eyes fell shut and his sobs fell silent. 

For the next 10 minutes, Peter woke up, fainted, woke up, cried, fainted again. It pained Tony to see Peter like this and not be able to help him except let his condition run its course. 

Steve returned to the living room with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. He set it down on the coffee table and sat at the end of Peter’s feet, waiting for him to wake up again. 

“Can you eat this for me? If not me, for you? It will help.” Tony requested when Peter woke once again, no crying this time, just a blank expression. He nodded numbly and shakily reached out for a piece of bacon, taking a bite. He was able to finish off the 10 pieces of bacon before fainting.

A few minutes later he woke, ate the eggs, drank some orange juice, and fainted. 

It was nearing 8 am and most of the team was awake now, gathered around the living room, silently watching America’s Got Talent. Peter woke up, feeling way better than before. He let out a groan at the slight ache in his head and slowly sat up. The whole team turned their attention to him. 

“Anyone got any Tylenol?” Peter asked jokingly, everyone knowing that Tylenol didn’t work for his metabolism.

Tony took one look at him and sighed with relief,  _ it was over _ . 

* * *

Peter was having a particularly bad day. He had woken up and fainted 3 times while getting ready. Tony had suggested that he stay home but Peter told him he would be alright and he couldn’t miss anymore school. Which was true. The past few days he had missed school due to his fainting and had MJ and Ned facetime him and tell him what he missed. 

Today was better than the past few days but still worse than usual. Tony drove him to school and wished him good luck, pressing a kiss to his curls. Peter gave him a tired smile and slipped out of the car with his backpack thrown over his shoulder. 

Ned and MJ immediately greeted him as soon as they saw him, wrapping him in a hug, Peter’s cheeks turning pink when MJ hugged him. He informed them that it was a bad day and they assured him that they would stick by him all day.

The school knew about his condition and had a rule that whenever Peter went somewhere like to the bathroom or moving from class to class, etc, one of his friends or a teacher must be supervising him at all times. 

It was a rule for all of the students that if they saw Peter on the verge of fainting they must catch him and tell an adult immediately. Ever since Peter was diagnosed with this mysterious condition Flash has been considerably nicer to him. He even caught him a few times and Peter would wake up wrapped in his former bully’s arms who would always ask if he was okay once he regained consciousness. You could almost say they were friends. 

Ned and MJ had the same morning class as Peter and walked with him down to Biology. Today they were dissecting frogs which Peter was dreading. He had no interest in cutting open a frog and looking at its insides. The thought of harming anything living even if it was just a frog made him queasy. 

The bell rang announcing class starting as the group of three arrived to class and took their seats at the back. Peter noticed that it was a substitute teacher who had a nasty attitude based on the way he glared at Peter and them when they walked into the class. 

Peter nudged MJ and pointed to the teacher, she looked up at the teacher with a bored expression before lighting up slightly. She pulled out her crisis sketchbook and began drawing the teacher with a permanent scowl on his face. Peter grinned when she winked at him, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes. 

The teacher began rambling and Peter had zoned him out, looking out the window which showed the parking lot. There was a group of teens crowded around one of the portables, studying. To the right, a few feet away were a group of kids that always skipped and got high instead of going to class sitting around one of the cars. 

A loud snapping sound jolted him from his doze and he quickly looked away from the window up to the angry teacher who had smacked his meter stick against Peter’s desk, dangerously close to his hand that was resting next to his binder. 

“Am I boring you, Mr. Parker?” The teacher glowered. Peter looked around to see the class staring at him with blank expressions, though it was clear that some didn’t like this teacher either. 

“Uhm, n-no Mr…” Peter paused, looking for his name written on the chalkboard. “Collins.” Peter finished, looking back up at the man. The man leaned down closer to Peter’s face. 

“Then I expect you to be paying attention, young man.” he grumbled before pulling away and walking back up to the front of the classroom, continuing his previous rambling. Peter turned and gave Ned and MJ a wide-eyed look of surprise. Ned returned the look and Mj raised a brow, showing her distaste for the teacher. 

It was up until the teacher pulled up a video on a tutorial on how to dissect a frog when Peter felt lightheaded and dizzy. He blinked and shook his head a little to wake himself up but that only brought another wave of dizziness. Peter knew that he was about to faint and tapped MJ’s hand whose eyes snapped over to him. She held her arms open and Peter let himself go, his eyes sliding shut and body falling lax in MJ’s arms. 

Ned grabbed his wrist and checked his watch, satisfied with the vitals. He got a message from Tony not long after, asking if Peter was okay since the watch sent him a notification that he fainted. Ned quickly brushed off his concerns and returned his attention back to the video playing on the projector. 

Peter shifted and slowly lifted his head from where it was resting on MJ’s chest. He muttered a sleepy thanks and sat back up in his seat, trying to focus on the video playing. He caught a glimpse of the frog and decided his desk was more interesting to look at. 

The video ended and everyone was given a tin pan with a frog inside. Mr. Collins gave them a paper with instructions and tools. 

Peter stared at the frog for a few minutes before shakily lifting a scalpel and cutting open the stomach. He held back a gag when the smell hit him. He put down the scalpel and held a fist over his mouth to try to compose himself, MJ saw this and chuckled at him. 

Peter looked over to see Ned making the same face, staring down at his frog in horror. Peter gave him a sympathetic look before turning to look back at his frog. He continued dissecting it.

He was removing the liver when he felt another wave of dizziness. He sighed and pushed his pan away from him so he could rest his head on the table. A lot of the time he relied on someone catching him but he also didn’t want to feel like a burden and was able to recognize when he was going to faint. He would get himself into a safe position and wait for it to happen. 

He felt Ned pat his back comfortingly before he blacked out. Usually, he was able to finish school with only fainting at least 3 - 5 times. But today was  _ bad _ . And students around him must know based on the sympathetic looks he got. 

This time he woke to the sound of someone snapping in front of his face, he lifted his head and looked around disoriented. His eyes landed on Mr. Collins who was snapping his fingers in front of his face. Peter rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes. 

“Parker, this is the second time I’ve caught you dozing off in class. If this happens again I will be sending you to the principal, you hear me?” The teacher scolded. Peter barely registered his words, still trying to grasp his surroundings. 

“Sir, he doesn’t mean to-” 

“He doesn’t mean to fall asleep in class? What, did he not get enough sleep or something? I thought this school was meant for smart kids who know when to go to bed.” Mr. Collins interrupted Ned, pointing angrily at Peter. MJ was biting her tongue, gripping her scalpel harder. 

“He has a condition.” MJ barked. The teacher scoffed, rolling his eyes. The class went silent, watching the altercation. 

“Condition my  _ ass _ . All I hear is excuses.” 

“He has a  _ fainting  _ condition.” Ned clarified, lifting Peter’s arm with the bracelet that had Tony’s phone number to call for emergencies. Peter had gone back to resting his head on the desk, feeling another one coming. 

“So what? You’re telling me he's a wimp that can’t handle cutting open a frog. Pathetic.” The teacher mocked. 

“Actually, sir. It’s true. He does have a fainting condition. The whole school knows about it.” Flash butted in, looking disapproving of the way the teacher was treating Peter. Students nodded in confirmation. Mr. Collins rolled his eyes and sighed. 

“Go walk it off, Parker. Wake yourself up and come back to my class awake and ready to learn.” he waved his hand dismissively. Peter let out a sigh and pushed his head up off of the desk. He moved to get up but stopped when MJ grabbed the sleeve of his sweatshirt. 

“Then I’m going with him. He can’t be alone, he needs to have someone with him at all times.” MJ argued. The teacher spun back around and pointed at her sternly. 

“Michelle Jones. You will stay in class, Mr. Parker is a big boy.” Mr. Collins barked and grabbed Peter’s arm, yanking him to his feet. The class gasped when Peter’s legs buckled and his chin dropped to his chest. Ned and MJ darted forward, gathering Peter into their arms. The teacher stepped back as if he had been burned. The entire class was burning glares into Mr. Collins. 

“Is he alright, should he go to the nurse?” Flash questioned as he crouched down next to them. 

“He needs to go home, he shouldn’t have come to school today,” MJ said disapprovingly as she read Peter’s vitals. Flash nodded and helped Ned lift Peter off of the ground, his arms slung over their shoulders. 

They began walking toward the door when the teacher tried to stop them. 

“Sir, I suggest that you step away before you get yourself in deeper shit than you’re already in. We are taking him to the office to be picked up.” MJ snarled, shutting him up. She turned on her heel to chase after the three boys. 

Once they got to the Nurse’s office Tony Stark was already waiting there, having seen the message Ned sent secretly during the argument with the teacher. Ned and Flash carried Peter over to one of the beds, laying him down gently. 

“What happened? All you told me was that shit was going down and that I should get here ASAP.” Tony questioned the three of them, glancing over at Peter who was still out cold. 

Ned, Michelle, and Flash explained everything that happened. The teacher nearly smacking Peter with his ruler, the yelling, the rude comments, him not believing them, and finally the teacher grabbing Peter and yanking him to his feet when he was barely conscious. 

Tony was fuming that the teacher even put his hands on his kid. 

“I’ll be making sure he never teaches again after I get him home. Thank’s kiddos for taking care of him. This deserves a movie night, us five and the Avengers. How’s that sound?” Tony offered with a smile. Ned nearly screamed in excitement, Michelle shrugged with a small smile, and Flash just stared at him dumbfounded. 

“M-Me too, Sir?” he stuttered. 

“Yeah, you too, Kiddo.” Tony smirked, knowing that Flash was the kid that used to bully Peter. But Peter told him they were kinda friends now. A friend of Peter’s was a friend of Tony’s. 

* * *

It was a Saturday night. Peter and Tony were in the lab fixing up Peter’s suit from the damage it took the other night. Karen had been damaged and didn’t send Tony a notification that Peter had fainted on his way home from patrol. 

Tony still didn’t like the fact that Peter was out there patrolling and fighting bad guys while also fighting his fainting disorder. That’s why he had made precautions. Karen had to notify him whenever Peter was about to or  _ has  _ fainted. Peter was also only allowed to be patrolling on good days which meant his fainting ranged from 4 - 6 times on good days. 

Tony was worried this exact thing would happen where something would go wrong and Karen wouldn’t tell him. Luckily Peter hadn’t been hurt, he found a safe place to settle down before he fainted. 

Tony made Peter promise that he would be responsible while patrolling which meant getting away from danger when he felt himself falling unconscious, don't overwork himself, make sure to drink lots of water, stay low when swinging around the city, etc. 

Peter told Tony he hadn’t been hurt. But when Peter was fighting a mugger the man had whacked him on the side of the head with the butt of his gun. Peter webbed him up and ran off into an alleyway, curling into a ball behind a dumpster and passing out. 

As soon as the gun smashed into his skull he felt himself losing consciousness and was lucky he got somewhere safe in time before he fainted. Ever since that night, he has been fainting with no warning beforehand. Usually, he had a 5 - 10 second warning before fainting. 

Tony has had a few close calls lately since Peter wasn’t able to warn him when he felt one coming. Peter wants to tell Tony what happened and that may be why he’s been fainting without warning but he also wanted to wait a few more days to see if it goes away. 

Tony had been keeping an eye on Peter, cautious since he had been fainting without warning lately. Tony already had to catch Peter twice in the past two hours since they’ve started working on his suit. He managed to fix Karen and fix up the tear in the suit. 

Peter was sitting on the stool working on his homework while Tony worked on one of his iron man suits. Peter was stuck on a math question and debated asking Tony for help but decided against it. He just needed to start over and try again. 

Peter suddenly felt his hand drop his pencil and felt his eyes roll back, his vision going black as he fainted. Tony heard a thud from beside him and his head shot around to look at Peter, seeing that he had fainted and smacked his head off of the counter and was falling off of his stool. 

Tony darted over but was too late as Peter fell from his stool, his head making a sickening crack as it hit against the ground, the sound making Tony feel dizzy. 

“Peter!?” Tony gasped as he dropped by Peter’s unconscious body. He lifted him into his arms and tapped at his cheek. “Kid, I’m gonna need you to wake up now,” Tony begged as he pressed a gentle hand to Peter’s cheek. Tony knew that he had fainted, nothing new, but knowing that he smacked his head twice made him look so lifeless. Tony felt himself on the verge of a panic attack. 

“Pete, c'mon kid. You know I have a heart condition. Please, just wake up. Even just for a few seconds. Please, kiddo. Let me know you’re okay.” Tony pleaded, his voice breaking. When Peter didn’t respond Tony had a particularly hard time drawing in his next breath. 

**“FRIDAY** get Bruce down here, now.” Tony demanded, too worried about his kid to apologize for being snappy with the AI. 

_ ‘Dr. Banner and others are on their way, boss.’ _

Tony was so panicked that he had forgotten to check Peter’s vitals. If he was in a calmer state and remembered to do that then maybe he wouldn’t be panicking now. He would know that Peter’s vitals were only a little off but nothing to panic about. But he didn’t know because he wasn’t in the right mind to remember to check. 

He kept rocking himself and the teen who was cradled in his lap back and forth. Tony felt something warm wet his shirt from where Peter’s head was resting. He pulled back the teenager to see that blood was trailing down his face from where a cut was on his forehead. 

This sent Tony spiralling into a panic attack.

Tony wiped away the blood shakily and repeated to himself and Peter that everything was okay, even if he felt like that wasn’t true. He barely registered the doors to the lab opening and several people running in. 

Bruce crouched in front of the two of them and looked at Tony with a calm and gentle expression. 

“What happened, Tones?” Bruce asked gently. 

“I didn’t catch him. I didn’t catch him. He fainted and I didn’t catch him.” Tony stuttered out and now that he finally heard himself saying those words out loud, the realization that he didn’t catch Peter hit him. 

The lab was where Peter fainted for the first time, it was also the place where he wasn’t caught for the first time. 

Tony hadn’t caught Peter for the first time since he’s been diagnosed with this stupid condition. 

“Tony, hey! Tony, look at me.” Bruce’s voice pulled him from his panic. “I need to take a look at him. Okay?” Bruce told Tony, reaching out for Peter slowly. Tony was overcome with the sudden urge to protect and wrapped his arms around Peter tighter. Peter was too vulnerable like this. 

“Tony, it’s just me. You know I’d never do anything to hurt Peter. So please, let me look at him.” Bruce pleaded, giving him a hard look. Tony blinked out of his protectiveness and nodded, letting Bruce come closer. 

He looked at the cut on Peter’s forehead and gently pinched the cut together and nodded in satisfaction that it would heal on its own without stitches. 

“Did he hurt himself anywhere else?” Bruce inquired, checking Peter’s vitals on his watch. 

“He uh, he-he hit his head twice. Once on the desk and once when he hit the ground.” Tony managed to say, still trying to calm himself from his panic attack. Steve and the others had gathered around, Rhodey took his spot next to Tony, rubbing a comforting hand on his back. 

Bruce nodded and began feeling around Peter’s head, feeling for a bump or cut. It was when his fingers pressed against a tender area at the back of his head that elicited a whine out of Peter. Bruce paused as if waiting for Peter to wake up, but he stayed unconscious. 

Bruce pulled out a pen light from his pocket and lifted Peter’s eyelids, flashing the light into them. He pulled back and went back to feeling around Peter’s head for the bump again. It was when his fingers ran over another bump that he frowned. Tony noticed this and straightened himself.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Tony inquired, his brows furrowed in worry. 

“It seems Peter has two separate bumps along with the gash on his forehead. Do you know if he got hurt on patrol recently or fainted and hurt himself?” Bruce questioned. Tony thought for a moment. 

“He went patrolling last night and his suit was damaged but he told me he hadn’t been hurt,” Tony said slowly. Peter is going to be in a lot of shit when he wakes up. 

“Well the good news is that it’s only a mild concussion, it should be gone in the next 5 days with his advanced healing. For now, let's just clean up that cut and put some ice on those bumps.” Bruce told him with a reassuring smile. 

Tony felt like he could finally breathe again. Of course, he wasn’t happy that Peter hadn’t told him about being hurt or the fact that he had a mild concussion, but it was way better than the other possibilities.

Tony had scooped Peter up into his arms, brought him up to the lounge and situated him on the couch with 3 blankets and pillows surrounding him. The team surrounded him, some sitting on the carpeted floor, others on the couch or chairs. Clint made popcorn for everyone and Thor picked a random movie. 

5 minutes into the movie Peter let out a groan, sitting up slowly. He furrowed his brows when he felt something slid off of his head, he lifted his hand to grab it and saw that it was an ice pack. He felt his legs resting on someone's lap and lifted his head from its comfortable position to see Tony. 

Tony noticed Peter waking up and watched as he broke out of his unconsciousness. The team all cheered teasingly when Peter sat up.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty!" Peter rolled his eyes with a laugh. 

“What are we watching?” Peter questioned, looking at the TV. The people looked familiar but he couldn’t quite place them yet. 

“Pay It Forward.” Clint said with boredom. “I was suggesting something light-hearted and funny but goldilocks here decided on this instead.” 

“No! You guys know I cry every time with this movie.” Peter buried his face in the pillows with a groan, eliciting a laugh from the group. 

“Hey, kiddo. How’re you feeling?” Tony asked, patting his knee. Peter looked up to see that the team had returned their attention back to the movie. 

“I’m alright. My head hurts a little but other than that, I'm pretty good.” Peter told him with a smile. Tony gave him a tight smile in return. 

“I’m sorry…” Tony said softly. Peter furrowed his brows in confusion. 

“For what?” Peter inquired, puzzled. 

“For not catching you,” Tony clarified. 

“I’m okay.” 

“But you hit your head twice because I didn’t catch you.” Tony argued. Peter glared at him. 

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark. I’ve told you since the beginning that you won’t always be able to catch me, and that’s okay. Seriously. I’m okay. A little scratch and bump won’t keep Spider-man down.” Peter gleamed confidently. Tony laughed and shook his head, feeling as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. For some reason he thought Peter would hate him for not catching him. 

He was right though, a fall can’t keep Spider-man down… 

Speaking of…

“You’re in so much trouble for not telling me you got hurt on patrol.” Tony glared at Peter. Peter’s eyes widened and he quickly dropped his head back down into his pillow. 

“Huh? Sorry, what was that? I’m so tired, I could go for a little nap. Talk to you later, Mr. Stark.” Peter faked a yawn and closed his eyes, pulling the blankets over his head. 

“No, no, no, no. You can’t just faint on me when you want to avoid talking about something.” 

“I can and I will.” Peter’s muffled voice sang out. 

“Teenagers,” Tony scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to watch Pay It Forward for a school assignment and it was amazing. It really pulled at my heartstrings :(
> 
> Yet again this is inspired by @lavishhallucinations fanfic <3


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